|
||||
|
||||
|
vendor reviews: wedding
Story: Wedding Worthy Spaces Banquet Rooms, Reception Halls & Wedding Locales
|
Interviewing Kimberly Fu, WPIC, Owner of Envision Wedding and Event Coordination
When planning your wedding day, the amount of work that is involved can sometimes become overwhelming, especially for busy brides. That's why Kimberly Fu, Wedding Coordinator and Owner of Envision Wedding and Event Coordination in Toronto, offers wedding coordination and consulting packages to help brides "bring [their] dreams to a reality."
Kimberly is certain brides will love her services as she goes 'above and beyond' the call of duty, offering flexible packages from full coordination to arranging last minute details, or just meeting to get advice from an industry professional. With competitive prices, and the chance to pick and choose what services best suit your needs, it's no wonder that Envision Wedding and Event Coordination continues to grow as Kimberly's clients recommend her to other brides. And here's why...
Personally speaking... Kimberly never thought she would be running her own company even though "planning events was always in [her] blood." She majored in Journalism and Media Studies, but knew deep down that one day she would plan large scale events, so she minored in Event Management.
After graduation, and finding journalism jobs to be sparse, Kimberly and a friend opened their own wedding videography business. They spent over a year helping out at many weddings, and Kimberly thought to herself, "I could do this. I could make one of these happen." So, she received her Wedding Coordination and Consulting Certification from the Wedding Planners Institute of Canada (WPIC) and opened Envision Wedding and Event Coordination.
But her training doesn't stop there. To keep up with changing wedding décor colours and industry trends Kimberly continually reads magazines and watches shows to gather as many ideas as possible.
At the time of our interview, Kimberly coordinated five weddings in the seven months she's been in business, four of which were full service planning, so she feels like she's "done a million!"
Her passion for helping couples plan weddings and "knowing that in the end the client gets everything they wanted" is what inspires Kimberly to offer the best service she can. "In this day and age, we must all celebrate and cherish such happy occasions like marriage! And I think it's wonderful that these people are willing to make the commitment to each other - so it's my job to come in and make that day possible for them."
Making your dreams a reality Though Kimberly is the main coordinator who works with brides throughout the planning process, she hires freelance wedding coordinators through the WPIC alumni list as her assistants for the wedding day. These planners assist the bride and groom during their photo shoot, and help Kimberly with minor tasks throughout the wedding day.
"I get excited about my next wedding, knowing that it's a blank canvas just waiting to be painted on," adds Kimberly of the unique ideas and creativity she says she offers for each wedding.
Jennifer Kazlauskis, married June 7, 2008, hired Kimberly for the Day-Of package and told us her wedding day was everything she dreamed of. "It was the most magical day of my life. Thanks to Kimberly I was able to enjoy every minute of the day and not have to worry about the little things that come up on the day of. She made sure that everything ran smoothly and on time. My parents still talk about her and how great she was. She made sure everyone who was making a speech was given a five minute 'curtain call' and made sure that I was well taken care of – even going to get me a drink while we were taking pictures!"
Janet B. choose Kimberly's Full Vision Package for her September 13, 2008 wedding. She told The Ring, "... during my first consultation with Kimberly, she had a lot of energy and excitement which I really liked." She went on to tell us that working with her was great, from start to finish, "Kimberly was amazing from the very start. For our initial meeting, we all met in person and my husband and I discussed what we envisioned for our wedding and what our budget was. After that meeting, Kimberly put a detailed budget together for us and a time schedule. We worked very closely together during the year researching and meeting with vendors. She was a godsend on the day of the wedding. I was able to enjoy my wedding day because I knew that Kim was there to ensure that everything went smoothly."
Package details The Full Vision Package entails full coordination of the planning process, starting with an idea, and culminating in the wedding, including, but not limited to: wedding theme development, vendor referrals, contract negotiations, vendor visits, budget creation, wedding day itinerary design and management, invitation and program design, MC script creation, ceremony and reception set-up, overseeing schedule and flow of the wedding day and unlimited email and in-person consultations.
Kimberly also offers a Day-Of Vision Package, which is the most popular service as she notes, "Brides really like to get involved in their wedding planning these days, but in the end they want to relax and see the fruits of their labour come together." Jennifer told us, "Originally I had planned on doing all the wedding planning myself. As the date drew nearer, and my professional life got busier, I started to worry that I would forget something... [Kimberly's] attitude and personality drew me to her instantly. After speaking with her for a couple of minutes, her love of planning weddings was obvious and made it an easy choice."
As part of the Day-Of package, you would hire Kimberly at least a month before the wedding so she can see where you are in the planning, what help is required, and offer advice without fully taking over. She refers them to certain vendors, creates a master itinerary, makes checklists for final tasks that should be taken care of, follows up with vendors (including payment), and attends/arranges the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner (if necessary). On the day of the wedding she oversees the photo shoot and schedule for the day so the couple just has to sit back, relax and watch everything come together.
Kimberly also offers an alternative for brides – a Day-Of package for the reception only because she believes that most of the planning goes into a reception. This package begins two weeks prior to the wedding, enough time to confirm details with vendors and create a master itinerary. It also includes pre-wedding day site checks, final vendor payments, reception set-up only, overseeing schedule and flow of the evening, and troubleshooting, if necessary.
"The Consult Your Vision Package is ideal for the bride who wants to plan her own wedding but needs some professional advice about the process," says Kimberly. Brides would meet with Kimberly to "discuss their wedding, ask questions about what they should do, and essentially get a clear idea of what path they should follow in order to have a flawless wedding."
The Build Your Own Vision Package is also a popular choice among brides and grooms as they are able to choose what service(s) they require the most. A la carte items you can choose from include vendor referrals, contract negotiation and vendor visits, theme development, wedding day itinerary design, budget creation, invitation and program design, planning consultations and wedding-related event planning.
Walking you through it First, contact Kimberly through her website, by email or by phone to set up a meeting. She will meet you at a local coffee shop (or park, or another comfortable location), usually within the GTA, to get a feel for your personality and your wedding vision.
Once you decide to hire Kimberly to help with your wedding needs, a contract is signed, the services are discussed in detail, and the package you chose will be executed between then and the wedding day.
On the wedding day, depending on the package you choose, Kimberly arrives at the time indicated on the itinerary (which is approved by the bride) and assists with preparations leading up to the ceremony. Then she makes sure all the décor is in place for the ceremony site and the vendors have arrived on time. Following the ceremony, Kimberly heads to the reception to make sure everything is in order while her assistant attends the photo shoot with the bridal party. Kimberly stays "right up until the last formality of the evening."
If the bride requests a 'debriefing' after the wedding day, then Kimberly schedules that with her, free of charge, and gives her the final invoice - otherwise the final invoice is sent by mail.
Pricing it out Kimberly's target market is for multitasking brides. "I tend to work with those brides who have several other obligations in life but still want the dream, picture-perfect wedding." Her ideal bride is someone who has "a middle-class budget." Taxes are included, but not gratuities.
Kimberly says the Full Day Vision Package usually goes for 10% of a bride's budget, but she offers it a different way. "Because I know that brides are already spending quite a bit of money on their wedding, I have chosen to make it 8% of their budget, and then pro-rated from the time they hire me." So for example, if a bride hires Kimberly halfway through her planning, Kimberly will assess how much the bride has already spent, and her rate will be 8% of the remaining budget. Payments are broken up per month instead of being due up front.
A flat fee will apply for weddings over a $50,000 budget, and a minimum of a $20,000 budget is required. The deposit to book for Full Vision is 25% of the proposed package price.
The Day-Of Vision Package starts at $500, and the reception only version starts at $350 with 50% of the package price due at the time of booking for both.
Consult Your Vision costs $150 for the first hour and $50 for each hour after, with a minimum of one hour required. The full payment is made at the time of consultation.
Prices vary for each service in the Build Your Own Vision Package. The vendor referral, contract negotiation and vendor visits are 10% of each vendor contract booked. Theme development and wedding day itinerary design are each $150. The budget creation and invitation and program design cost $200 each, and planning consultations are as previously mentioned. Planning of wedding-related events (bachelor/bachelorette, bridal shower, rehearsal dinner, stag and doe, etc.) costs $500 per event. The deposit to book each is 25% of each package price.
Whatever package you end up choosing from Envision Wedding and Event Coordination, Kimberly promises "that you will get the most honest and professional service... and your day will be everything you imagined it to be!"
Your next steps to hiring... Contact Envision through their website at www.envisionweddings.ca, email at info@envisionweddings.ca or Kimberly Fu's cell phone at 647-204-0867. Kimberly herself is located in Mississauga but can travel anywhere in the GTA to meet you face-to-face and get your wedding vision on its way to being reality.
- The Staff at TheWeddingRing.ca * Prices are all approximate & are subject to change and verification by authorized staff and management of Envision Wedding and Event Coordination. * Top photo of review and fourth photo in right-hand photo strip by bostonimages.com. |
|
advertising inquiries ~ get reviewed ~ recommend a vendor ~ about us ~ privacy policy
contact theweddingring.ca © Copyright 2007 Wedding Ring Inc., All Rights Reserved. |
Full day wedding coordination for a
worry-free day
